AC Health to boost expansion of FamilyDoc clinics

THE health care unit of Ayala Corp. (AC) looks to end the year with more than 80 FamilyDoc clinics, as it continues to be on the lookout for partnerships to expand its existing facilities.

Ayala Healthcare Holdings, Inc. (AC Health) Chief Executive Officer Paolo Maximo F. Borromeo said the company is on track with its expansion plans, which involves putting up 1,000 Generika drugstores and 100 FamilyDoc clinics by 2020.

“We’re on track with our expansion plans. We’re very excited about where we are with Generika and with FamilyDoc, we have over 50 clinics now. And by (2019), we should have over 80 clinics. Our target is still 100, but that’s only here in Greater Manila Area,” Mr. Borromeo told BusinessWorld on the sidelines of the AC Health Leadership Summit in Makati last month.

AC Health holds a 50% stake in Generika Drugstore following its partnership with the Ferrer family in 2015, which owns the other half.

“We invested in Generika drugstore to help expand the reach of generic medicines, which provide Filipinos up to 80% savings versus branded equivalents,” AC President and Chief Operating Officer Fernando Zobel de Ayala said in a speech during the event.

“We also believe that Filipinos deserve quality, primary care, and as such, have been investing to expand our FamilyDoc clinics across more communities where access to basic health services have historically been limited.”

Asked if the company is planning to put up FamilyDoc clinics in the provinces, Mr. Borromeo said they have yet to draw up such plans.

“We haven’t thought of it yet. But if we do go outside of Metro Manila, our focus will be the big cities like Cebu, Davao, Iloilo, and in those cases, what I’d like to do is work with someone, with a local partner preferably that will give us large health care in those municipalities,” Mr. Borromeo explained.

PARTNERSHIPS

The AC Health executive noted that while they cannot disclose any agreements yet, they continue to look for partnership opportunities that will allow them to invest in existing hospitals, or to build new facilities from the ground up.

“Moving forward, we’re looking at investing in the hospital and specialty care space to complete the continuum of care for our patients. We believe this ecosystem view is important in delivering integrated quality, and affordable services,” Mr. Zobel said.

AC Health has been steadily expanding its portfolio. Last December, it acquired a 75% stake in Negros Grace Pharmacy, Inc., broadening its footprint in the Visayas.

The company is also investing in technologies that could potentially disrupt the health care industry in the future. For instance, the company acquired a minority stake in a home health app called Aide, which allows patients to book doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to provide health care services at home. It also has investments in online pharmacy MedGrocer.

AC booked a net income attributable to the parent of P23.86 billion in the first nine months of 2018, 3% higher year-on-year, on the back of an 18% uptick in gross revenues to P201.68 billion.

Healthcare sector convenes for Health Leadership Summit

Over 400 participants from the government, private sector, academe, and non-government organizations joined the first-ever Health Leadership Summit held on December 3, 2018 at the Ateneo Professional Schools Auditorium in Rockwell, Makati City.

The conference, organized by AC Health and the Ateneo Professional Schools, engaged participants in multi-sectoral discussions on key pillars of the Universal Health Care (UHC) Bill. Industry leaders were invited to share their expertise and experience in panel discussions covering Health Financing, Service Delivery Network, and Patient Health-Seeking Behavior.

AC Health Board Chairman and Ayala Corporation President, Fernando Zobel de Ayala, in his opening remarks, stressed the importance of collective effort in bridging the gap in the healthcare system. “We believe that the success of UHC will come from a confluence of different stakeholders, working together to deliver services across the continuum of care,” he added.

Senator Risa Hontiveros, co-author of the UHC Bill, was the event’s keynote speaker. Hontiveros provided updates from the recent passage of the bill by the bicameral committee, including the automatic enrollment of all Filipinos to PhilHealth, and improvement of access to various healthcare services, among others.

“The idea behind universal healthcare is not simply coverage for all people for everything. It does aim to provide the most affordable quality healthcare possible for all Filipinos, while installing a form protection from financial risk,” Hontiveros stressed.

The summit discussions will be used to generate a policy paper that will provide lawmakers with timely input in the final stages of the passage of the UHC Bill into law, and the subsequent crafting of its implementing rules and regulations.